Wrestling

ELAC wrestles defeated by Bakersfield

East Los Angeles College freshman Brandon Sotomayor pulls back for a take down attempt in a 12-6 decision win in the heavyweight division vs.Ramiro Macias of Bakersfield College. (Photo by Tadzio Garcia)

Sep 30, 2016

MONTEREY PARK, CA — In a tune-up for tomorrow's Santa Ana College Wrestling Tournament, one of the largest in the state, East Los Angeles College met Bakersfield College on a rare Friday night matchup.

ELAC wrestled without some key wrestlers, who were injured. Bakersfield took three weight division classes by upset victories, and won the dual meet 32-9.

Scoring is as follows:

125 pounds - Sophomore Joshua Garcia faced the No. 2-seeded 125-pounder in the state, Pedro Sarabia (Frontier HS). Garcia trailed 2-0 after the first period. Sarabia scored in the second period from an escape and another takedown. In the third, Sarabia added two takedowns and two escapes and won an 11-0 major decision. Bakersfield led 4-0.

133 pounds - Sophomore Alex Contreras (Montclair HS), a heavy favorite as the state’s No. 6-ranked wrestler in this weight class, faced Pedro Corona (Independence HS), No. 8-ranked in the 141- pound weight division. Contreras scored on a takedown and an escape for a 3-0 first period lead. Corona scored the same and tied it at 3-3 in the second. Contreras led 4-3 after an escape before the period ended. Nearing the win as time was expiring in the final period, Corona scored on a takedown with five seconds left for the dramatic 5-4 upset decision win. ELAC was down 7-0.

141 pounds - ELAC forfeited this weight class and Bakersfield upped its lead to 13-0.

149 pounds - Husky sophomore Marcus Phillips (Crater HS, WA) stepped in to replace an injured Jonathan Mandujano (Monrovia HS) who is ranked as Honorable Mention at 149 pounds. Phillips lost a major decision to Alvaro Tamayo (Arvin HS). Bakersfield led 17-0. "Not my best match this year," said Phillips. "I learned from this and will come back stronger."

165 pounds - Freshman Doroteo Lopez (CC Valencia HS) was down 2-1 after the first period. Bakersfield's Andrew Binger (North HS) recorded a near fall in the second, en route to a decision win. Bakersfield led 19-6.

174 pounds - ELAC sophomore Max Velez (Schurr HS) and Rodolfo Castulo (Delano HS) are both Honorable Mention-ranked in this weight class. Castulo led 3-2 after the opening period and got a decision win vs. Velez. Bakersfield increased its lead to 22-6.

184 pounds - ELAC freshman Gabriel Rodriguez (Warren HS), 5-4 overall and Honorable Mention ranked faced No. 5 Julio Fuentes (Golden Valley HS). Fuentes wrestled to a 14-0 lead by the end of the second period. Rodriguez outscored Fuentes 6-4 afterwards, but lost a major decision. Bakersfield led 26-6.

197 pounds - It was No. 6 ELAC freshman Efren Velez vs. No. 4 Zackary Mitchell. The match close throughout. A Mitchell takedown followed by an escape from Efren Velez made it 2-1 in favor of Mitchel. Efren Velez tied it at 2-2 in the second period after an escape and led 3-2 in the final third period. Mitchell recorded a takedown as time expired. Still on the ground, Velez took a swing and lost a point for unnecessary roughness. Mitchell won 4-2. Bakersfield led 32-6.

Heavyweight - Undefeated ELAC freshman and No. 4-ranked Brandon Sotomayor (Bakersfield Centennial HS) faced Honorable Mention-ranked Ramiro Macias (Bakersfield Kennedy HS) and led after a busy first period. Sotomayor opened the score 2-0, with a takedown. He led 6-2 after two more takedowns and allowed Macias an uncontested escape. Sotomayor added three more takedowns and won a 12-6 decision. Bakersfield won the dual meet 32-9.

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